MILWAUKEE -- The Pirates and Brewers swapped the lead three times in the final three inning halves Saturday, eventually ending on an Eric Sogard two-run walk-off homer off Richard Rodriguez in a 7-6 loss at Miller Park.
In the process, the Pirates' record dropped to 9-21, the worst in Major League Baseball.
And for those of you doing the head math, that marks the midway point in the 60-game season.
Derek Shelton and Ben Cherington have both said repeatedly this season that they are not happy with that win total. This season was always going to be a year of internal evaluation and teaching, but Cherington went out of his way to make sure most of last year's team returned rather than trade the core and start fresh in his first year on the job.
Once the pandemic hit and the season was shortened, the discussion turned to treating the campaign like a sprint. The mindset became that anything could happen in a drastically shortened season and with an expanded postseason. Even now with how this season has gone, the Pirates currently sit just five games out of a playoff spot. With a handful of flipped results, winning games they shouldn't have lost or pitched Miguel Del Pozo in, they could have technically still been in the hunt for the lesser divisional automatic playoff berth at the season's midway point.
But those games were losses. That's why Cherington has been in sell-mode ahead of Monday's trade deadline, with one deal down and almost certainly multiple more to go.
The dreams of a sprint have long been dead. That means it's all about self-evaluation and trying to get better internally.
So how does one assess the process at the season's midway point?
"Obviously, offensively we have to get better," Shelton said. "We’ve had some guys who are off to slow starts so we need to continue to get better there."
That goes without saying. What was perceived to be a strength entering the season has been by far their greatest weakness. Thus far, the offense's production has been so poor that it is threatening to be one of the worst in baseball not only for this season, but since the beginning of the live ball era.
Josh Bell, Adam Frazier and Gregory Polanco in particular have all slumped for almost the entirety of the season. If they are not traded before 4 p.m. Monday, it will be because Cherington couldn't find someone willing to give up the prospects he feels he would need in return to make a deal.
Not to mention that if they and other sluggers like Bryan Reynolds, Jose Osuna and Kevin Newman hit like they had last year, the club likely would have banked those extra wins and perhaps wouldn't have to be sellers yet. Delay the inevitable, even if for just one shortened season.
On the pitching side, the numbers look similar to last year's, most notably having a 5.16 staff ERA compared to 2019's 5.19, but that is partially due to injuries the staff has undergone.
The turnover has been high. All told, 10 different pitchers have been placed on the injured list at one point. The only National League teams with more have been the Marlins (17) and Cardinals (11), who both had COVID-19 outbreaks in their clubhouse.
"We have so many new arms with all of the injuries," Jacob Stallings said. "We’re just kind of learning each other."
But amid those trips to the injured list and going to the alternate training site in Altoona more than anyone could have expected, the Pirates have unearthed a few productive players by giving them opportunities they might not have been afforded otherwise.
"Really excited about some of our pitchers and the steps they’ve taken," Shelton said before the game. "We can talk about [JT] Brubaker. We can talk about [Nik] Turley. We can talk about [Chris] Stratton. There’s a lot of positive things."
Shelton has tried to focus on the positives this season, even through the bad times. Find positives, and find teaching points to try to grow.
"We have to identify every night things we do," he said. "... Part of my job and our staff’s job is to identify things we can do nightly to get better and make sure we use those as teaching points.”
It's going to be an ongoing process. One of Cherington's mottos is learning everyday. Shelton hopes to be a better manager in 2021 than he was this season.
Growing isn't contingent on winning.
"Whether you’re doing poorly or well, if you’re at least taking advantage of your failures, you’re still growing," Stallings said.
• Let's break down those three lead changes.
The Pirates went into the bottom of the eighth ahead 4-3. After allowing a leadoff double to Christian Yelich and hitting Keston Hiura with a pitch, Turley was almost able to get out of the jam, but pinch-hitter Avisail Garcia was able to keep a hot grounder just inside the third base bag for a go-ahead double:
Stallings' summary of the play: "That stunk."
• But they got those runs back. Or, they were given to them.
The usually reliable and dominant Josh Hader was off his game, missing high and to his arm side with his fastball consistently, and ended up walking five of his six batters faced.
Stallings and Adam Frazier technically drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, though they never offered at a pitch.
"We were going to make him throw a strike before we were going to swing," Stallings said.
They could have had more runs later in the inning, but Jace Peterson robbed Polanco of a hit with a sliding catch.
• Peterson would end up causing problems in the bottom of the ninth as well, leading off the frame with a walk of his own.
That set the stage for Sogard, who got a hold of a mis-located inside fastball that Stallings called for high and outside:
"Honestly, we just didn't execute two fastballs," Shelton said.
• The late inning misfires ended up costing JT Brubaker his first major-league win, after he went five innings of two run ball. He allowed three hits and three walks, and struck out a half dozen.
That line doesn't really do him justice. Brubaker started shaky, allowing a home run to Yelich in the first and laboring through a 33 pitch second inning.
He ended that frame by getting Yelich to line out to left. After that, something clicked, and he retired his final eight batters faced.
"He took a big step forward," Shelton said.
"I thought today was his best outing," Stallings said.
Brubaker said his tempo was off early, perhaps due to pitching in a domed stadium for the first time in his career. Whatever the reason, he bounced back, and his efficiency in the third and fourth innings gave him the opportunity to go back out there in the fifth and try to get the win.
Another one of those teachable moments, as Shelton said afterwards.
"Feels good, just being able to get the pitch count up there," Brubaker said. "Just the confidence to go out there and know that next time out, I’ll probably be able to have full reign."
• Bell has been showing signs of heating up the last few nights, offering at better pitches and hitting the ball harder. That continued Saturday, driving a homer out to center as part of his 2-for-3 performance. He also drew a walk and lifted a sacrifice fly.
Bell said after the game that his swing is feeling good right now.
"I’m just trying to get my best swing off every at-bat, every swing," Bell said. "I went through some of my swings from earlier this year, and it didn’t seem like if I have 12 swings a night, those are the swings that I want to take. As of right now and for the rest of the year, I’m just going to try to get my ‘A’ swing off and see where it takes me.
"If I get 12 really good swings off in the night and I go 0-for, I’m going to be happy. But if I’m out reaching for balls I shouldn’t be swinging at, it’s kind of tough to sleep at night. So I’ll take the first route.”
• Though he did not pitch Saturday, Kyle Crick was activated off the injured list.
Crick had some poor outings in the exhibition games and in the early legs of the regular season before being put on the IL on July 28.
In his time away, he worked on some weight transfer portions of his delivery, focusing on driving off the rubber with his heel rather than his toe, and doing the same with his landing, heel instead of toe.
Most of Crick's early season problems seemed to tie in with a drastic drop in fastball velocity. Shelton said before the game it is "trending up to where we want it to be," but no official word of how fast that is.
So will those missing mph show up again?
"I think fastball velocity, for me, has always been something that comes over time, something that you build up to over three to six weeks of really ripping on it in spring," Crick said. And we had less time, so I think I was trying to rip on it a little earlier than I normally would."
• Factoid of the night: Stallings improved his season slash line to .323/.397/.416 after going 1-for-4 with a double and a walk Saturday.
In Pirates history, only six catchers have hit at least .323 (min. two plate appearances per team's game played). They are: Jason Kendall (1998, 1999, 2003), Manny Sanguillen (1970, 1975), Smoky Burgess (1962), Spud Davis (1940), Earl Smith (1926) and Johnny Gooch (1922).